A large sample of more than 1500 individuals of scavenging Amphipoda
from fur seal carcass was studied. Six species have been identified. The
two most abundant species, Abyssorchomene plebs and Waldeckia obesa, are
sublittoral, necrophagous amphipods that could attack the carcass when
submerged in the sea. After stranding on the beach they became an
attractive food source for birds eating not only the seal tissues but
also the scavenging amphipods. The species composition of the present
sample as well as earlier data on Antarctic tern stomach content and
baited traps taken in the same area and at the same time agreed quite
well. These observations confirm the expectation that Antarctic tern
feeds on necrophagous amphipods picked out from carcasses stranding on
the sea shore.